Page 247 of Time Stops With You

“Oh, I saw one of your videos went viral. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” I mutter flatly.

“You deserve it, Nardi. Your cooking is amazing. My mom is still upset with me for not letting you cater her birthday party.”

“Next time,” I promise woodenly.

“Yeah, next time.” Sunny goes quiet. “Nardi, you know you can talk to me if you need to, right?”

“I know.”

“How have you been?”

“Good,” I say.

“Define ‘good’.”

“I’m eating well. I drink lots of water and take my vitamins. I’m good.”

Sunny’s voice fills with relief. “Great. I’m glad to hear that.”

“Darrel will be too. You should mention it to him. Just in case Cullen calls,” I tell her nervously.

Sunny pauses. “Nardi, Cullen hasn’t reached out to us. We don’t know where he is either.”

My voice trembles. “But maybe he’ll call soon.”

“If he does reach out,” Sunny says patiently, “he’ll probably ask not to see you.”

It stings to hear, but she’s right. “Still…”

“Still,” she promises, “if I hear anything from him, I’ll let you know.”

“He doesn’t have to share details if he’s not comfortable.” I’m begging and I’m well aware I sound pathetic, but I don’t care. “Just knowing where he is, if he’s in a hospital, or in a computer lab or on a beach in Greece—anything will help.”

Sunny sighs. “Nardi, if you don’t want to talk to me, you can talk to Darrel.”

“I don’t need to talk to Darrel,” I snap. “I just want to know where Cullen is.”

Sunny goes silent.

“Are you sureno onehas his location?” I glance at the list of hospitals and chew on my bottom lip. “What about Richard Sullivan? He’s Cullen’s business partner. Surely, they’d be in touch.”

“They’re not,” Sunny says quietly. “Cullen completed the handover of Cullen Tech to the new operators. Sullivan doesn’t have much interaction with the company anymore.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, my heart banging against my ribs.

Sunny clears her throat. “Nardi, have you considered… maybe taking some time to yourself? Based on your social media, you’re going at life a mile a minute. Have you given yourself space to really prepare for what your next chapter will be?”

I think back to that conversation with Cullen, the one where I told him my dreams and he encouraged me to go for it.

“No. He’s probably watching me now. I want him to see what I’ll do after he’s gone. I want him to trust me that I’ll be alright. Maybe then, he’ll let me talk to him before…”

“Before he dies?” Sunny finishes for me.

My throat squeezes tight.

She continues gently, “I’m just worried you’re over-doing it. Forcing yourself to function as normal isn’t healthy. Not when you’re grieving.”

---